Fidel Castro Steps Down!!!

[yachtsmanbill]

Cuba and Puerto Rico will become 51 and 52 respectively. How would 51 stars look on old glory? Just wait a bit... ws

 

[krush]

Oh sure, and the next thing you're going to tell us is that the war on drugs isn't succeeding.

Is that sarcasm?

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

Oh sure, and the next thing you're going to tell us is that the war on drugs isn't succeeding.

The war on drugs is a war of stupid people against themselves. It has been proven that treatment and therapy yields much greater bang for the buck. The "war on drugs" is a political pawn.

I don't do drugs and smoke nothing BTW. But it's none of governments damn business what I or you consume or drink in the confines of our home on our own property, especially if it does not infringe on anyone else's liberty (or we don't attempt to sell it to minors - I do have a problem with that). We cannot continue to fund this all time grand looser of government waste.

Now you've got me all shook up. Tonight I'll have to have a double scotch.

 

[Bob Bradley]

Is that sarcasm?

Ya think?

The war on drugs is working about as well as prohibition did in the early part of the 20th century. You know, that's when the mob got it's start. Where do you think the current street gangs and outlaw biker clubs get their funding?

Keep in mind, that there is no incentive for these types to police themselves with respect to the customers with whom they will do business. My 16 yr old son will have a much harder time obtaining booze than he would drugs. A package store has a strong incentive not to sell to minors. Drug dealers have no such incentive.

Don't get me wrong, I don't condone drug use either, but the existing legal framework makes it far easier for kids to get drugs than liquor. To me, that's the bottom line on the failure of the drug war. And, of course we could go on and on about punishment vs treatment for sick people.

 

[ThirdHatt]

Reduce the demand, the supply will reduce as well.

Problems with drugs is a social/health problem, NOT a criminal one!

 

[Imthebeachgirl]

Spoke to our daughter last night. Her CO (commanding officer) told her that this is the best time to be in Cuba, as in she will see history in the making. They are being trained on how to handle "cuban refugees", that will not want to take anymore of Raul's dictatorship..and will come to GITMO thinking they will be able to find some sorta "freedom" there...NOT....she said she is very busy and is looking forward to getting into more permanent housing when it becomes available. She is in a trailer set up, with 9 other gals. So much for "privacy"...it was great just to hear her voice, a tired one, but hers...

Cheers, Laurie & Jim

 

[Captned]

My buddy just sailed to Cuba. This was his story.....


We certainly planned to make a blog entry sooner than this but we have been in Cuba for 3 weeks – longer than we thought. When we got to Havana and started chatting to the other cruisers we saw that hitting the south coast was the way to go. And Cuba is bigger than Florida so it isn’t done in a day. From Key West we made it to Marina Hemingway (9 miles from Havana) in 20 hours, motoring all the way as there was no wind. At least it made a calm Gulf Stream crossing. Then three long hours to clear in between the doctor, dockmaster rep, immigration, Benji the sniffer dog and customs. We had loads of parcels we were bringing in for 2 Cubans Adrian knew at the marina. For this reason, we were kept longer than usual as they opened every locker and cabinet and did a thoroughly painful inspection. It’s been 4 years since Adrian has been to Cuba and Marina Hemingway and things have changed considerably. First of all, the US dollar is no longer used as the second currency and it is penalized 10% when you convert it to the new currency for foreigners, which are convertible pesos. This is all due to Bush threatening to sue some country over accepting US$ from Cuba in loan payments. So Cuba decided no more US$ as the second currency. We were able to change into the local peso currency but only the bus and the local market were places we could use this money. Also, the locals aren’t allowed into the marina with the same ease. So the few bars and restaurants in the complex were dead. There was no buzz at all and the only socializing was amongst the other cruisers (all nice people). Many of them had been coming for years and all said that Cuba isn’t the same anymore as there are more restrictions on both the locals and the cruisers. But however Cuba is at the moment, we can all see that as soon as it opens it will be a pearl in the Caribbean. Of course, we all enjoyed roaming around Havana. We wandered every little street and alleyway all day. What a glorious city it must have been in its heyday. Although there is still great architecture (European-style), there were loads of dwellings with the roof or façade missing. However, there is some sign of restoration going on so someone is giving them money. This was the only place we found our cuban ‘caffe con leche’. Everywhere else we ask for this we are told there is no milk and can only have an espresso or American coffee. We might start walking around with our own milk soon. Fortunately we loaded up on our long life UHT milk as we have not come across fresh milk yet.
Charity Run Debacle - We can now say with first hand experience that to bring in gifts (used or otherwise) into Cuba is not permitted unless you pay a tax (officially 100% of its value!). Most of the cruisers who brought goods snuck them out of the marina gate in their little daypacks, hoping the guards (see Blue Meanies section below) wouldn’t report them to customs. We did our charity run as a favor to two Cuban guys working in the Miami Marina who had most of their family in Havana. We were going to write the details of our saga but it would probably be really boring for all of you. Let’s just say that much of our time in the Havana area was spent figuring out how to get all our Cuban stuff off board to the family of these Cuban guys. It was a huge nightmare in the end and left Adrian sorely disappointed with the lack of appreciation for his efforts. Our assurances of ‘no problem, my cousin runs the marina, you’ll be treated like VIPs in Havana…’ translated into a few days of hassle, paying customs $60 and no thank you or appearance from any of the recipients. Wow, that was a really succinct version of the facts. We also had a load of personal things we thought we would give away, which took up most of the rest of our time! Fortunately we met a lovely couple on Kirin – Lou and Sharon. These Canadians have been coming to Cuba for 11 years so they had local contacts and were a great and helpful source of info. They also led Tai Chi classed in the morning, which was also a social forum. So with their help we started handing out clothes, shoes and tools to the guards (on the sly as they are not really allowed to accept), the guy who collected garbage, the dockmaster. Then we loaded up our small day packs (a pot and pan at a time) and went to the nearest village, where they knew a lot of folk and understood who would benefit from what. When Dana gave a pot and pan to one guy, he was very grateful and claimed that now both he and his wife could hit each other over the head at the same time. Fair fighting. The toughest item to unload was the two-handed car/boat polisher and about 250 buffing pads. That went to a boy who makes surf boards, although in many installments as we couldn’t walk out with it all at once. Fortunately, in almost all of these cases, people were very grateful and spoke about how great it would be for their house. It slightly made up for the other delivery. Maria La Gorda – This was a perfect little anchorage on the south western side. Unbeknownst to us this was a premier diving spot, catering mostly to Europeans. There was a hotel with a bar and restaurant with a beautiful sandy beach. The shade was provided by the coconut trees, which wasn’t very relaxing as we spent most of our beach time staring up at them hoping they wouldn’t drop on us. (Do you know that more people are killed by coconuts falling than shark attacks?) We all did a wall dive (for Dana her first in about 12 years), which was brilliant – great coral, grouper and a green moray. Troy got some great pictures. Back at the boat he dropped over the side and came up with a hogfish and a dog snapper (5-8 lbs). Still eating them up, while the meat remains in the freezer for a less productive day. Blue Meanies and Officialdom – Travelling to Cuba by boat has its advantages and disadvantages. None of us needed visas in advance – just show up and clear in. But every single port we went to required a slew of immigrations, customs and other odd sorts come on board to write out in triplicate our names, where we’ve been, where we are going… We were chatty on the first check-in but now we say nothing and hope it all happens quickly. Same procedure to check out. And sometimes while approaching a port you might be told you can’t come in, even if there is nowhere nearby to head towards. In Marina Hemingway there were the Blue Meanies everywhere. That is, guards dressed in blue with their radios bleeping at all hours (Adrian does a great imitation of the radio sound – it is something like a turkey’s gobble). You would be strolling along the dock and out they would pop out from nowhere or maybe from behind some bushes.
Foraging for food – Everyday Dana goes out and tries to bring back fresh food. She thought the men were supposed to be hunters and gatherers but they mostly drink beer and rum to pass their time (she’ll give Troy a break as he is good catching fish). Havana wasn’t too bad but you just never know if today is the day for carrots or only garlic and onions. Timing is everything. She scored in Nueva Girona (on the Island of Youth in the south) when she happened to be there when the farmers arrived with sacks of carrots, beets and cabbage. There is a very orderly system in queuing up – when someone arrives they ask who is last in line. This would NEVER happen in Italy so she is more than grateful that there is no battle to wage while waiting for her carrots. Lobster – This word has been mentioned every day of our trip. Cuba is known for its great lobster supply. We expected to be eating them daily and even had a lobster trap. In chatting with the other cruisers in choosing our itinerary we would hear ‘you won’t have to even look for it, they’re everywhere. People come up to you and offer them for a bar of soap…’ Yeah, yeah, yeah. We are still looking. Our cruising book spoke of an anchorage where ‘the lobsters are the biggest I’ve ever seen and are crawling everywhere’. We checked every part of the reef and found nothing. Our lobster trap came up with seaweed. When we would arrive at another port the people would say ‘We tried you on the radio as we found a bunch of lobsters where we anchored’ or ‘Some fisherman gave us some lobster on route’. One of us has angered the God of the Lobsters.
Cayo Largo and lack of morals – Our last port of call in Cuba was Cayo Largo – a known dive destination with huge hotel strip a few miles from the marina. So one day we decided to check our emails at the only hotel hooked up. We wandered the grounds of this huge resort and stopped for a ‘café con leche’ as we figured a place like this would have milk. But then we noticed that the other clients were not giving room numbers or paying for the drinks. Nor were they wearing a bracelet that would indicate they were hotel guests. So for a brief minute we discussed whether we should own up to not being hotel guests. But we opted for silence and tipping well to assuage our guilt. We spent the whole day there and found out that most cruisers end up at this hotel (which happened to be the only one on the island without the tell-tale bracelets) for an occasional free meal and a beer, rum, pina colada, glass of wine... All in all, we enjoyed Cuba, although we did not hit all the main cities. I don’t think any of us really understood how the system truly works but guessed a lot. We have just arrived in Grand Cayman and the contrast in just travelling 140 miles (long and bouncy hours!!) is shocking. No longer is finding food a task. But no longer do we drink beer for a dollar and a mojito for $2

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

Thanks for sharing. It's kind of a sad story as, from what all I've heard, not too long ago as the writer mentions thing have really changed.

I've always wanted to go to Cuba but now after reading this I think I'll wait.

 

[mopester]

I am the beach girl, Your daughter will be fine. I have been there before. Where she is a little remote but on secure grounds. And it will definatly be something to see when the refuge flood starts. I have expieriance with that as well with haiti people. It is truly amazing to see what level people will go when the just cant take it anymore. No worries though as it will be a very secure proccess.

As for my stories, I have been there to GITMO and seen some of the cleanest waters around and have a nice piece of stuff from the bottom. (got it before i new it was bad for the enviroment to collect it) Also have knowledge of a friend who painted 4 sale on a navy ship. HAHA we cant get away with that these days though. I also was chased by a cuban gun boat while towing a disabled american sailboat. I laugh now, but at the time i was screaming on the radio for the ship to come back and cover us!!!!!!! its amazing how far away far 5-700 yards looks when you dont think your cover is close enough.

My last story is about some one who gave me a letter to give to a family member still there. I sent the letter off through appropriate channels and the meber suddenly dissapeared. the person who gave me the letter called me a couple of months latter and said he hadn't heard from that person since... About six months later he was contacted by the missing member who had been whisked away ( a lite term) in the middle of the night, sepperated from his wife and kids and shipped to russia. Coincedence or consequence????? He did end up coming back a year later and all returned to relative normalcy for them if you can call it that.

It baffles me that in todays world society that this kind of thing still exists all over the world. How far we have come and how far we still have to go.

It will definatly be interesting.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

The war on drugs is a war of stupid people against themselves. It has been proven that treatment and therapy yields much greater bang for the buck. The "war on drugs" is a political pawn.

I don't do drugs and smoke nothing BTW. But it's none of governments damn business what I or you consume or drink in the confines of our home on our own property, especially if it does not infringe on anyone else's liberty (or we don't attempt to sell it to minors - I do have a problem with that). We cannot continue to fund this all time grand looser of government waste.

Now you've got me all shook up. Tonight I'll have to have a double scotch.

The only problem with what you drink or shoot up on your own property is when you're sorry ass winds up in the emergency room. Now you are using other folks money. When your girlfriend delivers her drug dependent baby. Of course that poor child is also born an alchaholic. Now the poor parentless kid winds up in my wife's neo-natal intensive care unit, also supported by people that don't do drugs. These folks that do drugs are a huge drain on our economic system,; we are paying for their problem. Their poor kids are paying even more!!

 

[BUSTER]

I doubt that anyone here is uninsured and further doubt that many Hatteras owners are druggies. As for the poor and abusers....they will always be among us and caring for them is part of the price of living in a modern civilization.

One of the few things in life that made me feel guilty as I relaxed on the bridge of my boat was watching the poor of Mexico or Cuba. They have no one to help them,at least we try to take care of our own.

 

[Boatsb]

Hey Buster I didn't know your boat was in Florida.

 

[ThirdHatt]

Hey Scott, I like the new avatar! I must admit that I could never quite make out what your old one was!

 

[Boatsb]

Thanks. The old one was a similar picture after dark. Not lit well.

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

The only problem with what you drink or shoot up on your own property is when you're sorry ass winds up in the emergency room. Now you are using other folks money. When your girlfriend delivers her drug dependent baby. Of course that poor child is also born an alchaholic. Now the poor parentless kid winds up in my wife's neo-natal intensive care unit, also supported by people that don't do drugs. These folks that do drugs are a huge drain on our economic system,; we are paying for their problem. Their poor kids are paying even more!!

Maynard, do we have a lot in common! Been that, done there (still waiting on the t-shirt though). (Sorry to be so late in jumping in, been away again for sometime).

Do you drive your wife to the NICU in the middle of the night when she gets that dreaded phone call at 2:00 AM… a baby has crashed? I do. Been married to a Neonatologist for 19 years. I can’t stand the thought of her driving to the NICU and back home at night alone (I sleep in the car, too much light in the Dr’s lounge).

My contention is this, stop wasting billions of dollars prosecuting people who are going to obtain controlled substances anyway, a contradictory approach when it’s perfectly legal to pickle your brain daily on Grey Goose (or Hose’), again in the privacy of your own home. Spend the money on treatment and mental therapy, a proven better investment and workable solution.

As a strong advocate of reducing government spending I am convinced that this approach, in time, will reduce the “run away” birth rate of premature babies. And that in itself will also reduce government spending, the primary financier of these tragedies. This is where “other folks money” is best spent.

You are right-on in your reference that many a preemie suffers a pain that no one will ever understand due to the drug abuses of it’s mother which, as only a Neonatologist can confirm, most are given birth by mothers who are drug addicts. In short, the baby is born with a drug addiction and, from the very minute of birth, suffers from the DTs. The major causes of premature births as you probably already know are (or are a combination of) genetics, poor health standards (includes drugs), or having sex in the second or third trimester. The latter exemplifies the flagrant irresponsibility of adults who refuse to take responsibility for their individual actions. My heart goes out however to the pregnant teen who all too often has had a depraved and troublesome childhood.

I’m not proud of the fact that [we] enjoy a comfortable life style (complements of YOUR/OUR government) in participating in the “government” care of, uhhhh, occupants of America.

 

[Boss Lady]

I just saw an article about a new herb that can grow about anywhere, it looks kind of like kudzu. People will figure out how to get high no matter what laws get passed. If it becomes illegal then the price goes up and creates a black market that is unregulated and untaxed. It also provides sufficient profit to corrupt our system. Prohibition didn't work before and it doesn't work now. Prohibition created a wealthy criminal class, and the drug war has done the same, except on a global basis. Remove the profit and it goes away. We won't need the multi-billion dollar budgets to police drugs. Hell, there is 1000 times the marijuana being grown here now than before the war on drugs began. I don't want people doing drugs, but all the laws and all the mone spent hasn't changed the outcome one bit. In fact drugs are more plentiful and easier to get than before they were illegal. I say legalize it, tax it, and make doing things like operating a vehicle under the influence a severe penalty.

 

[Traveler 45C]

Agreed!

 

[Boatsb]

Drugs are a political catch 22.

No politician wants to be associated with the criminals who import them therefor legalizing them can not help their friends and associates. It's probably the worst case of pork barrel politics but if it wont help the ones in office and their friends it's not going to happen.

 

[ThirdHatt]

I just saw an article about a new herb that can grow about anywhere, it looks kind of like kudzu. People will figure out how to get high no matter what laws get passed. If it becomes illegal then the price goes up and creates a black market that is unregulated and untaxed. It also provides sufficient profit to corrupt our system. Prohibition didn't work before and it doesn't work now. Prohibition created a wealthy criminal class, and the drug war has done the same, except on a global basis. Remove the profit and it goes away. We won't need the multi-billion dollar budgets to police drugs. Hell, there is 1000 times the marijuana being grown here now than before the war on drugs began. I don't want people doing drugs, but all the laws and all the mone spent hasn't changed the outcome one bit. In fact drugs are more plentiful and easier to get than before they were illegal. I say legalize it, tax it, and make doing things like operating a vehicle under the influence a severe penalty.

Well said! With that and support for the fair tax, I say BOSS LADY FOR PRESIDENT!!!

 

[krush]

My beef with the war on drugs, ignoring your position on drugs, is that LAW ABIDING CITIZENS get harassed.

If I'm caring a large amount of cash down the street, the police can confiscate it without cause and it's up to me to spend my time (and money) to get it back.

Now, people will say, "There is no reason for you to carry 20k in cash down the street".

My reply: "I'm a law abiding citizen. I do not need a reason to carry 20k in cash. It's my money and I should be able to do as I please"

"But what if you are a drug dealer"

"Hmm, guilty until proven innocent?"


The mob got its power (power that wasn't lost until late 1980's) DIRECTLY from prohibition.

For all you old farts....over 50% of college kids are criminals, many on the verge of fellons. Did you know that?